Total housing starts were at 458 thousand (SAAR) in April, the all time record low. The previous record low was 488 thousand in January (the lowest level since the Census Bureau began tracking housing starts in 1959).

I have been very pleased with the progress of my legislation, HR 1207, which calls for a complete audit of the Federal Reserve and removes many significant barriers towards transparency of our monetary system. This bill now has nearly 170 cosponsors

Foreclosure filings soared in Miami-Dade by 111 percent between March and April, according to RealtyTrac, a private foreclosure tracking firm. Broward foreclosures surged 124 percent between March and April.

Three out of four U.S. homeowners think the worst is over in the housing market. And half of the homeowners in Southern states – including Texas – say home prices will stabilize in their areas in the next six months, according to a new survey by Zill

The median price fell 14 percent to $169,000, the National Association of Realtors said today. Prices dropped in 134 of 152 metropolitan areas, with the deepest declines in Cape Coral-Ft. Myers, Florida, and the San Francisco and San Jose areas.

This chart is probably the most astounding. We have taken virtually every measure possible to prop up the crony banking model and thrown trillions at the housing problem. Yet foreclosures are still at record highs nationwide.

“Just like homeowners in smaller homes, these homeowners anticipated being able to refinance mortgages to continue making payments and at a future date sell for a gain and put it toward their next home.

Real-estate Web site Zillow.com said that overall, the number of borrowers who are underwater climbed to 26.9 million at the end of the first quarter from 16.3 million at the end of the fourth quarter.

“The operating environment for housing remained very difficult during the first quarter of 2009. The housing market continues to face rising unemployment, tight mortgage availability, increased foreclosure activity and declining home prices...

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Tuesday the three-year U.S. housing bust may be near a bottom and that he expected the recession to end this year barring a relapse of the financial crisis.

The FHA is almost certainly going to need a taxpayer bailout in the months ahead. The only debate is how much it will cost. By law FHA must carry a 2% reserve (or a 50 to 1 leverage rate), and it is now 3% and falling.

We know that those homeowners that do not have mortgages — i.e., 100% equity — cannot default. So if we want to understand the potential further mischief real estate land can cause, it is the mortgaged properties we should be watching.

Higher end properties are going to have to drop their prices significantly to adjust to this market. That will tend to put downward pressure on all prices. High speculator participation and a cooling economy are also risk factors for the market.

Victorville- The housing collapse is taking a literal form for one bankrupt housing development. Four model homes and 12 nearly finished spec homes at Bear Valley Road and Highway 395 are being demolished.

Phoenix home prices fell 35% from February 2008 to February 2009, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index. That’s the largest decline of any of the 20 largest cities in the US. Phoenix home prices are down 51% from their peak.

Allowing people to seek mortgage relief in bankruptcy court is opposed by Republicans and enough Democrats to block it. They remain worried that the legislation would unleash a torrent of loan defaults...

Inquiring minds are watching a pair of videos from Southern California. Allegedly, banks acquired brand new homes in foreclosure processes, the homes were not quite finished and the banks razed these homes rather than fix code violations.